One Per Cent: Robot race, biofuels and Taser grenades

One day, robots may outrun humans – but perhaps not for a while yet. A small robot named Robovie-PC has just been crowned champion of the first ever robot marathon. Five small robots completed 422 laps of a 100-metre track in Osaka, Japan. The winner was Robovie-PC, developed by the race’s sponsors, Japanese technology firm Vstone, which finished in 54 hours 57 minutes 50.26 seconds. Another Vstone android, Robovie-PC Lite, came in just seconds behind. One of the other robots was forced to retire after the first lap. The competitors were allowed to stop for running repairs …